Ismail Khilath Rasheed

Ismail Khilath Rasheed (also known as Hilath) is a Maldivian blogger known for his support of religious tolerance and his involvement in several national controversies. Reporters Without Borders has described him as a "leading journalist" and "one of his country’s leading free speech advocates".

Background Rasheed worked for a time as the youngest acting editor of the Maldivian newspaper Haveeru.

Blog closing In November 2011, his website, www.hilath.com, was shut down by Communications Authority of the Maldives (CAM) on the order of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, on the grounds that the site contained "anti-Islamic material". Islam is the only legal religion for Maldivian nationals under the 2008 Maldives Constitution, with Sunni Islam predominant. Rasheed defended his blog as an expression of his Sufism and condemned the censorship as Sunni intolerance. In a visit to Malé the same month, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay described the blog's closing as a "disturbing act" raising concerns about a "rise in religious inolerance". Reporters Without Borders (RSF) also condemned the closure, stating that "the increase in acts of religious intolerance is a threat to the Maldives' young democracy".

December 2011 arrest and response On 10 December, Rasheed organized a 30-person rally in Malé calling for religious tolerance. The rally was attacked by ten men throwing stones, one of which fractured Rasheed's skull, causing him to be hospitalized. Following the protest, members of the Maldives' opposition Adhaalath Party called for Rasheed's arrest and called for a 23 December counterdemonstration to protect Islam. A website for these protests again called for the murder of "those against Islam". Amnesty International reported that the Government of the Maldives made no effort to locate Rasheed's attackers, despite "credible photographic evidence of the attack". Amnesty International described the charge as a "clear example of the erosion of freedom of expression in the Maldives," as well as named Rasheed a prisoner of conscience, and demanded his immediate release. RSF also condemned the arrest, stating that "it is disturbing to see the government yet again yielding to pressure from the most conservative fringes of Maldivian society". RSF stated that it appeared that he had been deliberately targeted for his journalism. A minister of the Maldivian government condemned the attack, but also added "Hilath must have known that he had become a target of a few extremists ... We are not a secular country. When you talk about religion there will always be a few people who do not agree." He later left Maldives due to fearing for his safety.

Quit blogging on a regular basis On 26 March 2015, Rasheed informed on his blog on his decision to stop blogging on a regular basis. He also mentioned that "I have realised a very important truth. Allah (God) is real. If you also keep an open mind, one day you will also see this truth".